1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vacuum cleaning machines, and more particularly, to systems for keeping vacuum cleaning machines operable.
2. Background Information
Commercial cleaning services can be and often are big businesses. Larger cleaning services may have dozens of crews cleaning numerous commercial buildings at all hours of the day and night. The work loads may be scheduled right down to the frequency or day of the week that certain tasks, such as dusting and vacuuming are performed. Everything has to run like clockwork, and if it doesn""t, and schedules are disrupted, large and sometimes lucrative cleaning contracts may be lost to a competitor.
Vacuum cleaners are used to clean floors, carpets, window sills, furniture and a host of other things. A larger commercial cleaning service may possess hundreds of vacuum cleaners. What applies to commercial cleaning services also applies to institutions such as school districts, hospitals, air lines, cruise ship, government agencies, manufacturers, and retail business. These entities may also have tight cleaning schedules and own numerous vacuum cleaners.
There are different types of vacuum cleaners which are used for different applications. There are different types of vacuum cleaners. These include regular upright and canister vacuums, wet/dry and cyclonic filters, and HEPA filters, amongst others. Others use unique motors because of specialized power sources such as those found on cruise ships and airplanes. One of the more popular vacuum cleaners used by the commercial cleaning services and institutions enumerated above is the backpack vacuum cleaner. Backpack vacuum cleaners typically provide a backpack frame supported by shoulder straps and a hip belt similar to those found on camping backpacks. A vacuum cleaner, generally cylindrical in shape with a flow through vacuum pump and motor draws a suction through a filter bag is carried on the frame. The vacuum hose and tools extend out and around to the front when the backpack vacuum cleaner is carried on the back of the operator. They are popular because they are easily carried from floor to floor and in and out of buildings, and because they aren""t dragged across the floor when in use, where they can and often do hit furniture, store fixtures, equipment and the like.
A major problem associated with the operation of vacuum cleaning devices has been the problem of downtime associated with vacuum cleaner malfunctions. Typically, in such a setting, a broken vacuum cleaner results in a cleaning crew, or individual cleaning, not being able to finish the cleaning job, thus disrupting carefully crafted work schedules. Such a possibility of breakage often results in businesses and cleaning crews needing to purchase extra vacuum cleaning systems in order to have backups. The cost and inconvenience of needing extra vacuums when only a certain number are needed does not tend to be efficient.
Another problem associated with the operation of vacuum cleaning devices has been the need to have a plurality of cleaning devices to cover all of an operator""s cleaning needs. For instance, an operator may choose to own a regular vacuum, a wet/dry vacuum, a cyclonic filter vacuum, and a HEPA filter vacuum. For example, a theoretical manufacturing plant may have need for two wet/dry vacuums in parts of the plant, a HEPA vacuum cleaner in the xe2x80x9cclean roomxe2x80x9d and a regular vacuum for the carpets and furniture in the front office. In this example, if the HEPA vacuum cleaner motor were to fail, no other vacuum cleaner in the inventory of this theoretical manufacturing plant can be substituted for it, and all cleaning operations in the xe2x80x9cclean roomxe2x80x9d will cease until the HEPA unit can be repaired or replaced.
What is needed is a vacuum cleaning system whereby the defective component of the vacuum can be quickly and easily removed and replaced with a working component, thereby reducing downtime and improving overall efficiency of the cleaning system.
What is also needed is the ability to quickly change a single vacuum cleaner between various filtering modes.
Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description as follows, and in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by a practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and accommodations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a modular backpack vacuum cleaner and system for maintaining the operability of a vacuum cleaners and for increasing usability. This system is particularly useful when the suction creating means of a vacuum cleaner fails and when the user wants to switch from a first type of vacuuming to a second type of vacuuming (for instance, from wet/dry vacuuming to HEPA vacuuming).
The system requires locating the vacuum cleaner suction creating means in a first power unit chamber. Preferably, the suction creating means is further comprised of an electric motor which powers an impeller. This impeller, when so powered, establishes a suction. This suction creates an airflow in an intake port located in the power unit chamber and out an exhaust port of the power unit chamber. The electric motor is connected to a power source through use of an electrical connecting means, and an on/off switch may also be present for turning the motor on and off.
The vacuum cleaning system further comprises a separate filter unit chamber. Located within this filter unit chamber will be vacuum cleaner filter means. The filter unit chamber will have an intake port for receiving air containing a suspended particulate substance, and an exhaust port for venting air filtered by the filtering means into the power unit intake port. The intake port will be able to cooperate with a vacuum hose through a vacuum hose attachment means and preferably a filter will be used for separating, filtering, collecting and storing said particulate substance. The power unit""s chamber will be able to be releasably attached and detached from the filter unit chamber.
Thus, there are two main times when a user might want to detach the power unit from filter unit: when the user wants to use a different filter unit and when the vacuum cleaner motor fails and the user wants to switch the malfunctioning power unit with a working one.
To switch filter units, the user would only have to detach the power unit chamber from the first filter unit, and then install the power unit chamber on the second filter unit.
To change power units the user would detach the chamber containing the malfunctioning unit from the working unit. For instance, if the suction creating means failed, the user would detach the power unit chamber from the filter unit chamber. Then the user would connect a replacement power unit chamber in lieu thereof, thereby making the vacuum cleaner system once again operable. The defective component can then be easily serviced either by the user or by shipping or delivering the chamber in question to a servicing center.
Still other advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.